This and That

I will forever struggle at making blog titles. When it's just a simple post [which all of mine have been of late--real life] I get stumped. How many times can I say "House Update!"? Haha!

Anyhoo, this is just a small house update--of course--and I can really say I'm starting to love how it's coming along. The house is getting in its groove. Cheesy but true.

The entryway is coming along and I am totally digging it! The bench we got the other day really sealed the deal. I added some pillows I got from Ikea and H&M and it's even better!  I'm a fan of layering in home decor and it's looking good to my eye finally. The only thing I need to do is paint that doorbell box. I always say I'll do it and then I get distracted. I feel like I'm super scattered because I gotta make the most out of nap time. Ya dig, mommas?

We also added a little greenery [which I'll no doubt kill] and it instantly perks things up as well! 

And on a side note, randomly, on Sunday,  I was bad-mouthing the midwest and their lack of fiddle leaf figs for YEARS to the workers at Home Depot.  The nursery employees didn't even know what they were -- decor bloggers they were not. Haha!! So, same old story, I came home with two random house plants like always.  Later that night I was at Walmart and saw a whole slew of fiddle leaf figs just hanging out on the shelf.  Never in my many years of looking for them had I ever found them.  But here they were taunting me, in my own city.  Those clever little stinkers! I, of course, bought one and am headed back for another asap.  I'm sure their fate is not the best with me.  Whoops. Sorry in advance, little buddy.

I placed it in the living room for now but I really need to read up on their care and take serious steps to get this baby to grow.

And, while we're at it, I also added this H&M pillow to the green chair.  If you haven't checked out the H&M line you really should. It's good stuff!

That's it for now. Happy Tuesday! We're celebrating here with close to 80 degree temps! Peace out, polar vortex.

xoxo

Simple VDay Banner

I've never been a huge Valentine's Day fan but I'm ready this year. It's not that I've ever been an anti-Vday gal but rather it was just something that was never really on my radar. However,  I do love me some hearts and pink--wow, typical girl--and I have a week's worth of red outfits planned for my little buddy. Can you blame me? I'm now that mom. Whoops!

We don't do much holiday decorating but I did add my trusty foam heart banner to the mantel that I made from a Target find.

I simply threaded some fishing wire through the holes and I was done.  

I bought the hearts years ago but I saw the same ones in-store last week.  While I was there I bought another banner that I am going to add to the bottom of this one.  

Oh, and that basket? I feel like it was made for me.  You gotta check them out if you haven't yet. 

Target is so my happy place. 

xoxo

DIY: Young, Wild, & Free

I may not be creative, but when I see a good idea I sure can find a way to recreate it! Haha!

The other day, you know, before Snowmageddon 2014, I bundled up for what I thought would be one of my last days of break for a girls' day!  I joined my sweet Maw Maw for pedicures, lunch and shopping and then met two of my most dear friends for lunch and catching up. So good for the soul. 

I posted the above [albeit fuzzy] pic on Instagram [@Joidan82] and I really wish you could see my shoes! I found them [on accident] at Journeys for Kids and they have the best leopard detailing on the side. Who knew my size 8.5 foot could fit into girls' sized shoes. Duly noted!

After lunch we stopped at TJ Maxx and Marshall's and found this cute little sign.

I loved it for Theron's room and it wasn't expensive at all.  I think it was less than $10.  However, the fonts weren't doing it for me.  

I snapped a picture of it on my iPhone--seriously, how convenient is life in 2014?!--and decided to make my own version at home.  

I've made a lot of copycat images at home on PowerPoint but this time I used PicMonkey.  I LOVE PicMonkey.  I pay the $4.99 a month for the premium membership and it is totally worth it. I would say I use it just as much, if not more, than I use my photoshop.  It's so user friendly and easy to navigate. And, this is not an ad for them--promise!

To make my own version I simply downloaded a free chalkboard background via a google search, and used the available fonts on PicMonkey.  I played around with the sizing and saved my image. It only took about an hour or so.  I uploaded it to Walgreens and spent less than $3 printing it out in a 5x7. 

I used one of the tens of frames I had in the basement and planned on hanging it in Theron's room.  But after I saw it, I knew it'd look best smack dab on the TV wall in the living room next to our "This is so the happy place" DIY copycat art.  David and I like to think we're 'Young, Wild & Free" but Theron Drake actually lives it. Ha!

I think I need a nice green plant atop that brass Target table for some height! 

If you'd like the my version just right click and save! Happy day, guys!

xoxo

Entryway Updates

The entryway has stumped me for awhile.  Of course, I have liked it substantially more than the yellow explosion that was once here.  See exhibit A:

For the past couple months I settled on using a $20 dresser as a placeholder but I knew it wasn't permanent.

The height of the old mid century modern piece was much too low.   I never took any pictures of the space like this but imagine the typical MCM dresser and that was about it! I knew I wanted a change but my only problem was I couldn't find anything I loved.  Sure, some things on craigslist would've worked but nothing caught my eye.  Unusual, I know.

Then I saw this piece on West Elm and I immediately loved it.

It's weird, but it's been an extremely long time since I've bought a new piece of furniture that wasn't thrifted or bought off of craigslist. I waited for it to go on major sale and pulled the trigger. 

The styling of this piece is rough but it'll do for now.  I'm most excited about the "painting" I did.  It was another total copycat DIY from what I'm sure is a pricier piece! I've had this image pinned for so long and was certain I wanted to recreate it for this exact spot.  I am pleased it turned out exactly as I envisioned.  

All I did was use a roll of paper that we already had at home and added the black circles and splatters with acrylic paint.  I framed it using a poster frame that I sprayed gold. The whole project took less than an hour and makes a big impact!

The rest of the space is filled with most things we already had.  However, the small mirror was a garage sale find earlier this season and the tree was a Pier 1 find.  I've had the capiz shell light forever, or so it seems, and I repurposed an old trashcan [that I found in the trash!] as an umbrella stand years ago. 

Things won't stay like this forever, but I'm really liking the way it's finally coming along. 

xoxo

Living Room Updates: TV Wall

Hey guys and happy Monday! Dave and I are actually off today to take Theron to a speech evaluation.  Little buddy is still not talking at nearly 19 months so it's time to see what the next step is.  While he's been in therapy for a few months now and has great receptive language, we have still yet to hear any true words.  I have all the faith in the world that my little guy will talk when he's ready and feels confident, but let me tell you,  I cannot wait until I hear "momma" leave those sweet lips of his.  I am more than ready, to say the least.

Gosh, isn't he dreamy?

He's definitley my little adventurer who n e v e r stops.  Seriously, sitting's fun too, Theron Drake.[I'm talking to you, kid.]

But, that's not the purpose of the blog today.

Today we're talking gallery walls.  Are you sick of them yet? I'm not.  In fact, it's one of the most consistent things I am drawn to in home decor.  I'm not a stickler for all one color frames, or perfect symmetrical layouts; to each their own.

I'm sure most people give my ideas the side eye. Ha!

Here's what we started with when we moved in this summer:

And, here's what we've been living with for the past couple of months.  Sorry for the blah photo but I snapped this one right before bed the other night.

I am loving our white walls and I haven't been too quick to just fill them with placeholders.  I wanted to make sure that I was truly digging the gallery wall direction before I just bought/made things to fill the space.

I basically am obsessed with Emily Henderson's design eye and have had this picture [photo by Zeke Ruelas] saved on my pinterest for what seems like forever.

It finally dawned on me that this could totally work in our space.  The similarities of this space and mine made it easy for me to envision this setup at home.  We both have mid century dressers-turned-tv stands, white walls [yum!] and round ottomans.

It became my inspiration for the scale and size of our TV wall, which is definitely a work in progress.

I snapped that picture on Instagram yesterday and then decided to add the butterfly art later on.  I still have a couple more pieces to add but will do that in time.  

The "I want to have adventures with you" and butterfly pieces are actually a hand towel and fabric runner from H&M home.  You can find them here and here.  

The silver leaf canvas was a DIY project that I blogged about here.  The small daffodil needlepoint was a thrifting find.  

You guys remember the "This is so the happy place" DIY from the other day and the floral needlepoint and paint by numbers pieces were flea market & Goodwill finds. 

Like I said earlier, I am definitely not finished with the wall, but soon will be! I need some plants to ground the space but I'm not in a hurry to get some because my black thumb is out in full force. I don't have any tricks or tutorials to share for my gallery wall process.  I simply just eyeball where I want the frame to go and nail some holes.  Sometimes I get it right the first time, and other times I have a few extra nail holes in my wall.  While not perfect, it's always worked for me. Those of you who are more precise might want to do the whole template method!

Have a great week, friends!

xoxo

This Is So The Happy Place

I seriously love Lauren's blog, A Lovely Lark.  I don't know how one woman finds so many beautifully whimsical things but she manages to do it every single time.  Her design aesthetic is captivating and I promise, if you aren't already reading her blog, you will be after this post.

A few years back she was offering free design boards [I mean, who does that? She's that nice!] and I took her up on her offer.  She created a party design board for me while I was helping plan my sister-in-law's bridal shower.

Most recently I was inspired by one of her room mood boards to get my DIY on.  This sweet little girl's room had me at hello with that word art.  I needed it.  Craved it. [Yes, I know I'm dramatic.]

Her post led me to a specific website [that does not want me to be mentioned--long story!], where I fell in love with most every thing on it.  The Australian designers are so creative and have some major talent.  The price tags though? This cheapie couldn't afford 'em.

But I got to thinking.  I could totally recreate this piece in a copycat DIY just for our own personal space. I know I thought I was heading more neutral and sophisticated with this home, but how could you say no to this piece? It's so me. And I obviously keep being drawn back to these types of pieces. Whatever makes you happy, right? 

Here's how I made my version:

First thing I did was settle on a font and size that I thought closely resembled my inspiration.  

I had previously bought a 22x28 poster size frame and knew this piece would be perfect in it.  I had originally tried a larger font but it was too big.  Size 315 was just right.  

I then took about 2 hours while watching late night TV and cut every single letter out with some super sharp scissors. My eyes were crossing when I neared the end. 

On Saturday we took a trip to Michael's and I matched the felt as best I could to the original piece.  

Then on Saturday night I pinned each letter to the felt and cut around each letter once more.  

Sharp scissors was a definite must have for this project.  

Once all the letters were cut out, I placed them on the frame's cardboard backing that I had wrapped in a linen fabric from JoAnns.  [Which, by the way, I stood in line to get said fabric for almost an hour on a weekend night with a toddler.  Not the brightest of ideas.  Thankfully, David was there to entertain T with his newly found cans of Scotch-guard.  I can't make this stuff up.]

I used fabric glue to adhere the letters to the linen fabric and let it all dry flat over night.  Since I was working with a poster frame the glass was actually a plexiglass that I ended up cracking.  My strength was too much for it, I suppose. [I fail miserably at sarcasm, guys.]

Since the plexiglass was broken, I decided to just leave the piece without a cover.  Almost as if it was needlepoint or yarn art. 

I don't know if that's the best idea for down the road, but for now it seems to be just fine. 

The only thing I have left to do is hang it.  And maybe spray the frame gold.  Nothing is safe in this house from gold spray paint or gold rub 'n buff.   

Still working on this living room of ours and maybe someday we'll have some update pictures to share!
[And as I just hit "preview" to check my spelling in this post I noticed how this DIY resembles the header of my blog.  Guess it was meant to be.  :-) ]

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

A Little More Info On My DIY Art

My blog titles are so exciting right? Haha.  I spend way too much time trying to come up with something clever and boom--that's what you get.  I probably should stay away from marketing and advertising, no?

Anyhoo, I told you guys that I would be back with some deets on how I made that painted DIY canvas art in the last post.

This will not be a tutorial because like I said before, I had no idea what I was doing.

I simply bought some paint and brushes at Michael's:

And I used this rug, available at Furbish and Rugs USA [although now I can't seem to find it here], as inspiration:

Honestly, I just had my iPhone next to me with this rug's image and I tried to capture the same essence of it. I simply mixed my colors until I got one I liked and got to painting.  The whole thing took me about 2 hours or so.  

The final product didn't look much like the rug but the colors were exactly what I had envisioned. And that made me happy.

At first I left the sides unfinished:

But then during the day yesterday I decided to make a pit stop at Michael's on the way home to pick up some rub 'n buff to add a little gold to the edges.

I know most of you have used it, but on the off chance that you haven't, it's impossible to mess up.  You do exactly as the title states: rub 'n buff.  Seriously so easy.  And they have about 4 shades of gold to choose from so you can get the perfect shade you're looking for. 

My little tube cost around $4.00 and it said that it covers 20 sq. feet.  I had once before used rub 'n buff on Theron's curtain rings and was thrilled with it then as well.  

 You can't see the gold on the sides in this shot, but when you do, I promise, it looks awesome!

Oh, and someone left a very nice comment yesterday asking why I chose the white quarter round.  Good question! That was actually a miscommunication between the floor company and me.  I decided to keep it that way, and not go darker because we may eventually paint the fireplace white and I might want it to blend in with it.  It does stick out but I'm not up for changing it just yet.

You can see a little peek of the gold here!

Thanks for stopping in today.

xoxo

Living Room Updates & DIY Art

Hey guys! I don't think I've ever shared any in-progress pics of the living room on the blog.  If you recall, the entire living room, dining area, and kitchen are all open to one another now since we knocked down the wall.  We've still got a lot to do, like hang art and get new lighting along with order new drapery but at least the living space is pretty complete.

To refresh your memory, here's what we started with:

Directly to the right of the living space was this:

One of the very first things we did was tear down that wall, paint over that yellow, and replace the carpeting and tile with hardwood floors. 

The photos below were taken after the primer had been painted.  While I'm a major fan of brass being back, those light fixtures are on their way out soon.  Since the wall is no longer up the location of them don't make sense so we are waiting til we can hire an electrician to insert a new box for a light, almost in the middle of these two, and close off the other ones. 

We chose a 5" handscraped hardwood and so far I am loving them.  It is so true though, what people say, they absolutely show more dirt and dust than I ever imagined.  I've become best friends with my swiffer, vacuum, and newly purchased Bona cleaning system.

All of that takes us to where we are now.  Still trying to figure out how to decorate a house with more space, more windows, and taller ceilings! I don't have it figured out just yet, but it's coming along.

The green chair and TV stand were recent craigslist scores [since our buyers asked demanded we leave our old TV stand] and the drapery is from Halfpricedrapes.com.  I spray painted the curtain rods gold and reused Theron's rug from his room in the first house for this room.

I wish I would have taken better pics of the coffee table because that's a recent Joss and Main find! I was on the hunt for a round tufted ottoman and couldn't find a thing in my price range. Randomly I spotted this round option [that had the right dimensions] with nailhead detailing and made it mine for around $200.  I wasn't expecting it to be vinyl [it may have mentioned it in its description, but I could have missed it] so I was kinda bummed when it got here but now I love it.  You probably know why, too! With sticky toddler fingerprints it definitely cleans up very nicely.

The painting above the fireplace was an original done by yours truly. Haha.  I'll have to post the details behind that experience.  I had not a clue as to what I was doing.  But I honestly loved how it turned out!

The mantel styling was done in about a minute--no joke--with the stuff that I had on the sofa table.  I don't hate it but it wasn't really that thoughtful.  I do LOVE that gold bird cage/whater-you-want-to-call-it beaut.  She was a Goodwill find at the beginning of the school year and I'm so happy I didn't pass it up!

As the room evolves I will be sure to bring you guys along.  Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo